Men's Health - UK (2019-07)

26 MEN’S HEALTH

Lay the smackdown on boring

gym routines with high-impact

training tips from British WWE

superstar Tyler Bate. You will

make belly fat submit for good

BECOME KING

OF THE RING

HOW I

BUILT MY

BODY

H

idden on an industrial estate

in Enfield, London, is the UK’s

WWE Performance Centre.

Here, superstar wrestlers

hone their skills while waiting for the

call-up from across the pond. There’s

no rickety ring, no bloodstained crash

mats – instead, you’ll find slick, black turf

for pulling sleds, and rows of squat racks

and lifting platforms. The athletes move

through dynamic warm-ups of plyometrics

and animal flow. The only obvious

difference between them and Premiership

rugby players is the PVC briefs.

Among them is Tyler Bate, the first

winner of the WWE United Kingdom

Championship. “Training here is intense.

We’re not powerlifters, bodybuilders,

gymnasts or performers – we have to do

it all.” But it hasn’t always been that way

for Bate. “I was a gymnast between six and

13. I’ve always known how to
    control my body,” he says. “But
    when I started going to the gym,
    I just ate as much as I could
    and lifted as heavy as I could.”
    It’s a mistake that many of us
    can relate to. “My body began
    breaking down. For the past
    four years, I’ve had to work on
    fixing all my imbalances and
    training as a professional
    athlete.” It’s a high-impact
    sport, too, so a lot of self-care
    goes into preparing for each
    session. Before shifting any
    heavy metal, Bate focuses on

myofascial release –

rolling out his feet and

legs with a lacrosse ball

to target any painful knots –

and mobilising his joints

with 90-90 hip switches.

Bate is a very modern

athlete, so it’s somewhat

unsurprising that he has

been a vegan for three years.

“I feel lighter and move my

body better. And I sleep more

deeply. My energy levels are

higher all day,” says Bate.

And the perennial question

of protein? “I don’t think

about it. I focus on eating

good food, and if I want

to get bigger, I eat more,”

he says. It’s a tactic that

seems to be working.

Many of you won’t have

watched WWE since you were a kid.

Like you, it’s done a lot of growing up

since then. Still not convinced? Step

into the ring – go on, we dare you.

THE MOTIVATOR

Midlands-born

Tyler Bate won

the first WWE UK

Championship at

the age of 19 in

2017. Learn from
      his methods.